Immortality by Merit and Sin Coins

Chapter 55: Chapter 53: Immortal Spiritual Qi

”I didn’t mean any harm!”

In a side room of the Old Woodshed, the porcelain doll awkwardly rubbed her cheeks and muttered under her breath,

”Besides, when we Immortal Descendants are born, we rely on digesting our inheritance to get our initial memories. You scared me awake early, so my memories are definitely incomplete.”

”Everything I said was true! I just exaggerated a tiny, tiny bit to give you some confidence.”

After speaking, she cautiously peeked at the young man beside her.

’It’s the first time I’ve given my Essence Blood to someone. I’m still not used to it.’

’I’ll have to be more careful from now on and not let my thoughts run wild in my head.’

”...”

Lin Shu couldn’t be bothered to argue with her.

Although Yu Sheng was just making things up, she had accidentally stumbled upon the right conclusion.

At least in this land, the Yu Family, with a Half-Life Immortal presiding over it, was indeed very powerful.

’There are pros and cons to this, I suppose.’

’After all, no matter how strong the Yu Family is, it has nothing to do with me right now. But...’

Lin Shu lowered his gaze to his chest. If he remembered correctly, this little wolf phantom was genuinely connected to a Half-Life Immortal.

In other words, the person who had placed it in his body likely came from an equally formidable power.

Until he could make his body whole again or find another way to prolong his life, Lin Shu couldn’t possibly let it be taken from him.

”I really do need a backer.”

He exhaled softly.

The notoriously fearsome Silk Wolf possessed more than enough strength to protect herself.

Yet, because the Chen Family backing her was only led by a Scattered Immortal, when faced with the city’s lockdown, she could only feel as helpless and desperate as an ordinary person, resorting to desperate measures.

With her Cultivation at Qi Cultivation Perfection, she most likely could have survived until the city reopened.

Her real worry must have been that her status was too low. Even if the city reopened, she wouldn’t be able to regain her freedom, which was why she wanted to escape.

”...”

Lin Shu pondered for a long time.

’If I can really become a disciple of the Mountain God, I should be a little safer here in Yongzhou.’

’After all, for someone like Yu Sheng, who’s so afraid of death and pain, she wasn’t the least bit worried that anyone would dare to detain her after the city reopened.’

”Do you recognize this or not?”

He took out the bottle of Spirit Gathering Pills and poured them into his palm. There were ten soybean-sized, jade-colored pellets.

”I don’t recognize it, but I know what it’s for.” Yu Sheng wobbled to her feet, and faint specks of cyan light gradually appeared on her crystal-clear, tender skin.

”Formulas originate from the Divine Techniques of an Immortal Family. Each Immortal Family has a different aura; some excel in agility, while others specialize in subduing Demons with raw power.”

”If you want to unleash the true potential of your Formulas, you need to make the ’flavor’ of your Spiritual Power align with that of the Immortal Family.”

As she spoke, Yu Sheng closed her eyes and spread her two chubby arms.

’Come on, feel my presence!’

”Feel anything?” she asked curiously after waiting for a moment.

”No.” Lin Shu looked at the cyan specks of light on her body but didn’t feel much of anything.

”That’s not right! To have cultivated to this Realm in a place like Black Water City, you might not be a genius, but you shouldn’t be this dense.”

Yu Sheng opened her eyes in confusion. This was the first time she had ever voluntarily released the ’flavor’ from her body.

Even if he couldn’t comprehend a Cultivation Technique from it, he should have at least felt some sort of mystical sensation.

Before she could finish her sentence, the sound of a sword hum, sharp enough to ring metal and shatter stone, suddenly echoed through the courtyard!

CLANG—

The two of them looked out the window in unison, their gazes falling on the tightly shut door of the room opposite them.

The sword’s hum quickly faded, but the chilling killing intent it contained lingered in the Old Woodshed for a long time.

”Now, that’s more like it! You scared me to death! I almost thought my memories of being an Immortal Descendant were wrong too.”

Yu Sheng patted her chest.

Then, as if she’d thought of something, a look of annoyance crossed her face.

’I deliberately lured Miss Yun here back then because I sensed there was something extraordinary about her.’

’I was planning to wait for the right moment to take her as a disciple to act as a guardian for me and the old woman.’

’Unfortunately, my physical body hadn’t awakened, so I didn’t dare to easily undo the Array and let this Miss Yun feel the Immortal Qi, fearing it would attract the attention of outsiders.’

’If I’d known Lin Shu was going to force his way in, I would have been better off taking the gamble earlier!’

’With the talent this girl has shown, after two years of Cultivation, by the time that Lin fellow barged in, she could have run him through the heart with a single sword strike.’

’Oh, right, he doesn’t have a heart anymore. Then she could’ve run him through the kidneys!’

”What Immortal Technique did she comprehend?” Lin Shu slowly retracted his gaze.

”A Sixth-Grade, entry-level Inner Technique, the Cyan Sparrow Sword Heart Formulas. This should be the path of a Mountain Master Disciple, different from your Cyan Bird Qi-Introducing Formulas.”

”The former focuses on combat and killing, while the latter focuses on Nourishing Essence and Absorbing Qi.” Yu Sheng bit her finger, pondering for a long time before finally giving her answer.

”So she’s better at Magical Combat, and my Realm progresses faster?” Lin Shu more or less understood.

”Nope. Her Cultivation is faster too.” Yu Sheng shook her head with a serious expression.

She stood on her tiptoes and patted the young man’s shoulder comfortingly. ”It’s fine! We don’t rely on strength, we rely on backing. It gives us face! You can just be the Yu Family’s first Mountain Master Disciple to cultivate the Cyan Bird Qi-Introducing Formulas and be a local tyrant on the mountain with me!”

”Heh.”

Lin Shu shot her a look that was not quite a smile.

’She said before that the status of Mountain Master and World Traveler Disciples was about the same. With such a huge difference in Cultivation Techniques, it’d be a miracle if they were anywhere close.’

’I can tell that much even without ever having contact with an Immortal Sect.’

’Mountain Master Disciples are clearly groomed to be Inner Sect Disciples. As for World Traveler Disciples... they’re obviously destined to be cannon fodder.’

’As for this cub’s promises, they’re not worth more than a fart.’

’Good thing the Cyan Bird Qi-Introducing Formulas have already been modified into the Spiritual Sparrow Qi Eating Technique by the Merit Coins. At least in terms of Qi Absorption speed, there’s been a significant leap.’

’It might not necessarily be inferior to the path of a Mountain Master Disciple.’

”Let’s talk about the elixirs,” Lin Shu said, not wanting to get too caught up with her on the topic of ”Comprehension.”

”Nothing to talk about. Just eat them!” Yu Sheng tried to make the cyan light on her body even denser.

”Your Inner Technique is already at Sixth Grade Perfection, Absorbing a Hundred Threads of Qi. You’re only missing an Upper Three Grades Technique and an opportunity to break through to the Late-stage of Qi Cultivation.”

”With the help of this pill, you can first convert ten threads of your energy into Immortal Qi. This will not only greatly increase the power of your techniques and let you experience the feeling of the Late-stage of Qi Cultivation ahead of time, but it will also make it easier for you to comprehend the next volume of the Cyan Bird Qi-Introducing Formulas in the future.”

”...”

Lin Shu focused his mind and calmed his breath, swiftly activating the Spiritual Sparrow Qi Eating Technique.

He placed an elixir into his mouth.

The elixir’s power carried a hint of coolness, causing his Perception Power to surge. Amidst the flickering cyan light, he gradually began to hear the sound of whistling wind.

The Yu Family Mountain God controlled the Gang Wind and specialized in agility!

Lin Shu carefully savored that wisp of wind-intent, then cautiously guided it into the streams of white energy within his body.

The moment the two merged, a stream of white energy began to show a cyan hue from the inside out.

It continued until the entire thread of white Spiritual Power had turned deep cyan, swaying among the other white threads like a crane standing among chickens!

His Perception Power quickly faded. Lin Shu swallowed another Spirit Gathering Pill, and the number of elixirs in his palm rapidly dwindled.

His aptitude might not be as good as others’.

However, having an Immortal Descendant sitting right next to him, providing a constant stream of Immortal Aura, was a luxury that no other Cultivator in Black Water City could possibly enjoy.

An unknown amount of time passed.

Ten of the hundred swaying threads of Spiritual Qi had turned cyan. They were like limp strips of cloth that had suddenly transformed into steel blades. Though they clearly contained the same amount of energy, their texture was completely different.

If he were to activate his Formulas with this Immortal Spiritual Qi, the effect would likely more than double.

”Alright. Until you use up these ten threads of Cyan Sparrow Spiritual Power, there’s no real difference between you and a Late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivator.” Yu Sheng yawned.

”So they’re a one-time consumable?” Lin Shu opened his eyes.

’It seems the Spirit Gathering Pills only help a Cultivator sense the Immortal Flavor faster. The true method for converting Spiritual Qi must be recorded in an Upper Three Grades Internal Method.’

”What else? Unless you can forge this Spiritual Power into a Dao Foundation. When that time comes, any Spiritual Power you absorb from the world will automatically convert into Immortal Spiritual Qi just by passing through your Dao Foundation.”

”Absorbing a Hundred Threads of Qi is barely enough to build the worst possible Dao Foundation.”

”But that’s a matter for after the Foundation Establishment Stage.” Yu Sheng retracted the cyan light within her, hopped off the bed, scrambled to the window, and pushed it open a crack to retrieve a few sheets of paper that were being held down by a rock outside.

”This little lady is quite thoughtful. She was afraid of disturbing you, so she secretly left this and went back to her room.” She flipped through the pages casually and tossed them onto the bed.

Lin Shu picked them up and took a look.

The ink on them wasn’t yet dry. The handwriting was somewhat hasty compared to her previously elegant script, a clear sign that she had been worried about forgetting the content and wanted to copy it down quickly.

The Cyan Sparrow Sword Heart Formulas.

His expression grew a little complicated.

’In a place like Black Water City, to just give away an Inner Technique you’ve just comprehended... that goes a bit beyond the scope of a normal neighborly relationship.’

”She’s overthinking it, though. Those who can cultivate it will comprehend it on their own. For those who can’t, it’s useless even if you read the pages until they fall apart. How can someone who has never sensed that wisp of Sword Intent ever cultivate a Sword Heart?”

Yu Sheng bounced back onto the bed. She didn’t care about the level of Lin Shu’s Cultivation; she just needed him to stay alive.

’Anyway, once we get back to the Yu Family, is anyone really going to dare charge up the mountain and cause trouble for us?’

”...”

Lin Shu folded the pages and put them away, not feeling overly disappointed.

’As long as I have enough Merit Coins, I can always deduce a better Inner Technique.’

’Now that my strength has increased, my chances of earning those White Jade coins during that old tiger’s birthday celebration are much better.’

As dawn approached, he got up and walked out the door.

Lin Shu planned to investigate what kind of birthday gift the Black Water Gang had prepared for Xia Mingtang.